Acute Care Unit A (ACU A)
ACU A is a 25-bed high acuity unit for managing and treating CTAS level 3 patients. ACU A objective is to determine patient disposition within four (4) hours of arrival to the ECC – discharge or admission. Two (2) hours for consultation and layoff or transfer from ER to inpatient areas are allowed. ACUA manages, on average, 100 patients per day. ACU A has an occupancy rate of 100-150%.
ACU A Nurses are ATLS and ACLS certified. It caters to Level 2 emergency deliveries and OB-Gyne located on D-Side with five bays. ACUA A manages level 2 and 3 Psychiatric patients in C-Side with six bays and can be switched to a patient with Contact and Droplet precautions. ACU A has a backup psychiatric bay in the AMU area. ACU A has four chairs in the holding area for overflow.
ACU A responds to the RU unit as trauma responders and BLS external code blue responders.
ACU A staffing is composed of a Nurse Manager, Clinical Resource Nurse, Nurse Coordinators, Staff Nurses, and Patient Care Technicians. Nurse to patient ratio is maintained at 1:1 to 1:3 with the ability to provide 1:1 in Psychiatric patients and emergency deliveries.
Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are Total patient seen, Length of Stay 4 hours for EP and 6 hours for IP,
ACU A patient-focused initiatives are port-a-cath responders, Independent Double Check (IDC) Audit, CLMA mismatch, HAPI, fall, Pain Management, Infection Prevention and Control Practices, and Hand Hygiene compliance.